RE: SOTW: Mercedes-Benz 190E
Discussion
My Dad had a 1990-ish one of these for a few years. It was a 2.5D I think. Fantastic car and built like a proverbial brick outhouse. For some reason he replaced it with a newer C class, which he almost immediately regretted; it was a total shed in comparison and vastly inferior to my E36. Nothing could be a better example of just how much the quality of Mercs deteriorated so much in such a short time.
Having just been promoted to my first managerial position, I was delighted to receive a call from our Fleet manager who told me that, although I wasn’t entitled to it, he’d had an offer from the local Mercedes garage of a car which had been a cancelled order. “Was I interested?” As someone used to Maestros, Rover 213’s and Renault 19’s, the prospect of running around in a Mercedes was like winning the automotive lottery!
I rushed to the dealer to find this beautiful 190 in red – complete with 1.8 engine and 5 speed manual gearbox. Also included in the poverty spec were “windy windows” and a radio cassette player! Absolutely the bottom of the Merc range at that point.
To be honest, I can’t recall now what it was like to drive, but I do remember distinctly how it made me feel – like I had arrived, had made something of myself. When I went to visit my parents shortly afterwards, they had all the neighbours out to see the car and how well their lad had done!!
That was nearly 20 years ago and although I’ve had a fair number of cars in-between, I always had a hankering for another Merc. I now drive a diesel CLS which is quite magnificent – and although I always look forward to driving it, it doesn’t make me feel the way my 190 did. Perhaps though, that’s a consequence of ageing......!
I rushed to the dealer to find this beautiful 190 in red – complete with 1.8 engine and 5 speed manual gearbox. Also included in the poverty spec were “windy windows” and a radio cassette player! Absolutely the bottom of the Merc range at that point.
To be honest, I can’t recall now what it was like to drive, but I do remember distinctly how it made me feel – like I had arrived, had made something of myself. When I went to visit my parents shortly afterwards, they had all the neighbours out to see the car and how well their lad had done!!
That was nearly 20 years ago and although I’ve had a fair number of cars in-between, I always had a hankering for another Merc. I now drive a diesel CLS which is quite magnificent – and although I always look forward to driving it, it doesn’t make me feel the way my 190 did. Perhaps though, that’s a consequence of ageing......!
sl7023 said:
Having just been promoted to my first managerial position, I was delighted to receive a call from our Fleet manager who told me that, although I wasn’t entitled to it, he’d had an offer from the local Mercedes garage of a car which had been a cancelled order. “Was I interested?” As someone used to Maestros, Rover 213’s and Renault 19’s, the prospect of running around in a Mercedes was like winning the automotive lottery!
I rushed to the dealer to find this beautiful 190 in red – complete with 1.8 engine and 5 speed manual gearbox. Also included in the poverty spec were “windy windows” and a radio cassette player! Absolutely the bottom of the Merc range at that point.
To be honest, I can’t recall now what it was like to drive, but I do remember distinctly how it made me feel – like I had arrived, had made something of myself. When I went to visit my parents shortly afterwards, they had all the neighbours out to see the car and how well their lad had done!!
That was nearly 20 years ago and although I’ve had a fair number of cars in-between, I always had a hankering for another Merc. I now drive a diesel CLS which is quite magnificent – and although I always look forward to driving it, it doesn’t make me feel the way my 190 did. Perhaps though, that’s a consequence of ageing......!
20 years ago you'd find Mercedes-Benz in one column, and all other cars in another other. Ferrari and Rolls-Royce included.I rushed to the dealer to find this beautiful 190 in red – complete with 1.8 engine and 5 speed manual gearbox. Also included in the poverty spec were “windy windows” and a radio cassette player! Absolutely the bottom of the Merc range at that point.
To be honest, I can’t recall now what it was like to drive, but I do remember distinctly how it made me feel – like I had arrived, had made something of myself. When I went to visit my parents shortly afterwards, they had all the neighbours out to see the car and how well their lad had done!!
That was nearly 20 years ago and although I’ve had a fair number of cars in-between, I always had a hankering for another Merc. I now drive a diesel CLS which is quite magnificent – and although I always look forward to driving it, it doesn’t make me feel the way my 190 did. Perhaps though, that’s a consequence of ageing......!
Today there's just one column.
The Article said:
if only because Mercedes has not made a decent manual transmission since 1902.
I never get this comment - it seems like motoring nternets folkloreI wonder if it's just because Merc have good Auto boxes that the manuals get some much bad press
OH has a baby merc with 6-speed manual box and it's not a bad box at all - nice action - positive shift - with nicely spaced ratios
I've certainly driven cars with much worse manual boxes
As a trainee at the local insurance company I was lucky enough to snaffle the available job up on the top floor with all the Directors. Errand to run? Not for me a 405 or BX Diesel but a selection of 320i, 520i, 260E, 827 Vitesse and just one 190E Manual 2.0 in black which belonged to my boss. Whilst the 320i would have been the model I should prefer, and indeed looked the business in dolphin grey metallic with all the bells and whistles, for me aged 18 it rocked, but what about the 190? Well if I tell you my boss was Mr Cool, aged 55ish with a slick (now you'd call it clooneyesque) silver fox hairdo and a swagger, he had all the 18-25 year old women week at the knees in fact make that all the women. That Merc therefore had some provenance and ended up being my wheels of choice. I know he gave it the beans everywhere he went and I think rather as a result of that it was as sweet as it could have been for such a steady car, the gearbox was, unlike everyone says, spot on and the massive power ( I was 18 ) of the 2 Litre engine used to rock the 3 pointed star as you blipped the throttle in traffic and manna from heaven it was rear wheel drive which meant that, possibly partly as my boss used to be quite happy driving on hard driven, balding Michelin MXV's, it would slide quite benignly in the wet. I was never quite so sure about the Tina Turner Cassettes he always left in the stereo.
Oh to go back to those days!!! Must say though if the BMW had been a 325i the old 190 wouldn't have got a look in.
Oh to go back to those days!!! Must say though if the BMW had been a 325i the old 190 wouldn't have got a look in.
Edited by grosserbaby on Friday 8th February 16:32
People do treat you differently - it seems the 3 pointed star, or that you drive a mercedes, usually affects those of a jealous disposition.
Not car dealers though, after the vx had gone I was driving everywhere in the 190 to look at new fun cars and not one dealer would take me seriously because I turned up in a 20 year old car.
Now I go slightly ott, as my other car is also a mercedes - a 2001 SLK 320. Look at the values of them in the classifieds and you'll see I have 2 cars not worth huge amounts of money - yet "I er... have 2 cars, both mercedes" never fails to get a reaction.
Not car dealers though, after the vx had gone I was driving everywhere in the 190 to look at new fun cars and not one dealer would take me seriously because I turned up in a 20 year old car.
Now I go slightly ott, as my other car is also a mercedes - a 2001 SLK 320. Look at the values of them in the classifieds and you'll see I have 2 cars not worth huge amounts of money - yet "I er... have 2 cars, both mercedes" never fails to get a reaction.
Mr2Mike said:
I'll start the list with:
AIDS
Cock rot
VBRJ
What is VBRJ?AIDS
Cock rot
VBRJ
As for quality, on the Trader right now there are 15 190s for sale; and there are 15 Ford Sierras. Yet in the UK, the latter must have outsold the former by a factor of what? twenty? According to the notoriously unreliable howmanyleft.co.uk, in 1997 there were over 100,000 Sierra LXs on the streets, now there are 461; by contrast, in 1995 the UK's highways were graced by a mere 31,000 190 E Autos and yet today the survival rate is 4,500. This is because the 190 E was 100 times better designed and built than any boggo car.
SpeckledJim said:
405dogvan said:
Whilst I fully grasp the appeal of floaty-old MB's - I do not get why anyone would ever want a 190 (Evo 2 excepted, perhaps).
The quality was never there - they are a bit ungainly to look at - they're a bit cramped front and back (a big selling point for MBs is roominess for taller drivers - not the 190 tho) and so on.
I'm less surprised to see one for under £1000 - I'd be more surprised to find one worth more than a grand tbh (Evo 2 again, excepted)
Ha! Ha! Hahahaahaaaaaaahaaa.The quality was never there - they are a bit ungainly to look at - they're a bit cramped front and back (a big selling point for MBs is roominess for taller drivers - not the 190 tho) and so on.
I'm less surprised to see one for under £1000 - I'd be more surprised to find one worth more than a grand tbh (Evo 2 again, excepted)
Good one.
i was out and about today and saw 2 of these in someones driveway, a boggo basic one and a cosworth with black amg wheels, the cosworth looked very smart, then when I looked over to my left, kid you not there was beige one with some old biffer reversing on to the curb. Do these things ever die?!
My daily driver (next to my not so daily driver) for the last 5 years or so. Got it with 26000 miles on it, mint. Now has 73,000 miles on it and is still as tight as the day I got it.The flat red paint didn't have any clear coat and it was going pink and blotchy so I recently had it painted. Now if anything it's better than when I got it. Ultra reliable, very cheap to run and insure. 2.0 petrol manual, yes the 'box isn't the nicest thing in the world but it'll do 35mpg easily. Against it, it can randomly smell of garlic. Otherwise nothing. It wafts, but because of the way it wafts, it's not an issue that it has no power. It's really enjoyable to potter around in.
I will be the last owner of this car. Simple as that. I utterly love it.
I Posted this link to an "old top gear" test of the 190 on the MB forum a couple of days ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detail...
Some great footage of how it was tested, which helps to explain why there's loads still around compared to its contemporary sierras and maestros etc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detail...
Some great footage of how it was tested, which helps to explain why there's loads still around compared to its contemporary sierras and maestros etc
In 2002 I bought a 1988 190e 2.0 Manual with 176k on the clock for £600, I drove it for 2 years through London and regularly up to Liverpool and sold it 2.5 years later with 200k for £400. In that time nothing went wrong and it took everything I threw at it, even commuting from SE London to Oxford daily for a period.
There was not a single creak or rattle from the interior on any type of road surface.
Truly over-engineered, marvelous!
There was not a single creak or rattle from the interior on any type of road surface.
Truly over-engineered, marvelous!
juansolo said:
My daily driver (next to my not so daily driver) for the last 5 years or so. Got it with 26000 miles on it, mint. Now has 73,000 miles on it and is still as tight as the day I got it.The flat red paint didn't have any clear coat and it was going pink and blotchy so I recently had it painted. Now if anything it's better than when I got it. Ultra reliable, very cheap to run and insure. 2.0 petrol manual, yes the 'box isn't the nicest thing in the world but it'll do 35mpg easily. Against it, it can randomly smell of garlic. Otherwise nothing. It wafts, but because of the way it wafts, it's not an issue that it has no power. It's really enjoyable to potter around in.
I will be the last owner of this car. Simple as that. I utterly love it.
If I needed a daily driver it would be hard to look past another one.I had a 1.8 manual for a while and I really liked it. Both the gearchange quality and clutch action felt vague and quite different to the average car (to me) but after a while I realised it seemed to fit with the car - it allowed very smooth gearchanges (so good passenger comfort) and did not encourage rushing. The car made me a much more relaxed driver than anything else I've ever driven.
Even the 1.8 manual can be hussled along pretty well if you want to. It feels a little like the car is rolling its eyes at you for needing to rush in such an unseemly fashion, however!
Long and short of the story - I was happy enough with the manual that I would still take it over the auto (maybe not the 2.6 though).
Great shed this week.
I bought one of these at the end of last year, for £300. Admittedly not is such good nick as todays shed, but it does have a full complement of leccy windows, auto box and a pretty minty interior - the outside is somewhat scruffy, and its in for a new ball joint next week.
I look forward to it raining so that I can admire the clever wiper mechanism, and when the sun shines I enjoy opening the silent in operation electric roof - awesome
I am supposed to be selling in the spring, but I am quite attached to it
I bought one of these at the end of last year, for £300. Admittedly not is such good nick as todays shed, but it does have a full complement of leccy windows, auto box and a pretty minty interior - the outside is somewhat scruffy, and its in for a new ball joint next week.
I look forward to it raining so that I can admire the clever wiper mechanism, and when the sun shines I enjoy opening the silent in operation electric roof - awesome
I am supposed to be selling in the spring, but I am quite attached to it
braddo said:
If I needed a daily driver it would be hard to look past another one.I had a 1.8 manual for a while and I really liked it. Both the gearchange quality and clutch action felt vague and quite different to the average car (to me) but after a while I realised it seemed to fit with the car - it allowed very smooth gearchanges (so good passenger comfort) and did not encourage rushing. The car made me a much more relaxed driver than anything else I've ever driven.
Even the 1.8 manual can be hussled along pretty well if you want to. It feels a little like the car is rolling its eyes at you for needing to rush in such an unseemly fashion, however!
Long and short of the story - I was happy enough with the manual that I would still take it over the auto (maybe not the 2.6 though).
Had one of these and it was brilliant. Bought from XTR2Turbo for 125 quid drove it for three years and spent a total of 4.80 on a flexible brake hose to get it through one of its MOTs, sailed through the other 2 MOTs with no work needed. Sold it for 250 quid to Nigerian called George from south London!
It was my daily driver / commuter and given the value of it, used to park it pretty much anywhere without fear it would look any worse than when I left it.
Cannot get cheaper motoring than that.
It was my daily driver / commuter and given the value of it, used to park it pretty much anywhere without fear it would look any worse than when I left it.
Cannot get cheaper motoring than that.
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